Historical context

Nicholas II (Russian: Николай II; English: Nicholas II) was the last emperor of Russia. He reigned from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He was born on 18 May 1868 and was executed by the Bolsheviks together with his family on 17 July 1918.

He was the son of Tsar Alexander III and Maria Fyodorovna. After the death of his father in 1894, Nicholas became Tsar.
Nicholas II was a conservative monarch who opposed democratic reforms and maintained autocratic rule.

Under his rule, Russia suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Japan in 1904-1905, which fuelled domestic discontent and led to the revolution of 1905. This revolution led to the introduction of a Duma (parliament), although Nicholas II retained great power.
Nicholas II led Russia into the First World War, which led to enormous losses of soldiers and great social and political discontent.

In view of the February Revolution of 1917 and the general dissatisfaction within the army and the population, Nicholas II abdicated on 15 March 1917 (according to the Gregorian calendar).

After the abdication, the Tsar’s family was initially placed under house arrest and later taken to Yekaterinburg.
On 17 July 1918, Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their five children and four servants were executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.

In 2000, Nicholas II was canonised as a martyr by the Russian Orthodox Church. A symbol of the unbroken autocratic tradition in Russia, which has returned to the tsarist autocracy since the end of the Soviet Union.
Nicholas was married to Alexandra Fyodorovna, born Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Together they had five children: Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei.

Nicholas II’s life and reign marked the end of the Romanov dynasty and the end of the Tsarist Empire, which led to the creation of the Soviet Union.